Braille stamp or press



2,742,997 i 'BR'AILLE STAMP on PRESS Wsewolod Zalisko, Jersey City, N. J. v Application October 29, 1954, Serial No. 465,674

' I 4 Claims. c1. 197--6.1)

I, The present invention relates to means forproducing Braille embossing on paper, parchment, and thelike, and particularly to what I choose to term a Braille stamp o pre -The main object of my invention is to provide a press or-stamp deviceby which to impress or emboss thevarious points or marks comprising the alphabet for. the

blind according to the Braille system upon sheets of paper and the like at will.

Another object is. to have such a stamp or press for manually and selectively impressing the characters of theBraille' alphabet upon the paper used upon it so that the points forming theiletters are accurately located and impressed. W t

' 'A'further object is to havea portable Braille press or stamping device that is simple in construction and reliable in operation.

It is yet another object of the invention to have the apparatus for impressing the Braille points and characters entirely complete and self-contained, and also independent of power operation.

It is, of course, a practical object to have such a Braille press or stamping device that is not only simple in constructure, but also simple to operate and likewise reasonable in cost.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully in detail as the specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of this invention for a proper comprehension and appreciation of the salient features thereof, the invention is illustrated on the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, and in which: V

Figure 1 is a plan view of a pair of plates forming part of the apparatus embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the pressing or stamping head of the device;

Figure 3 is a partial elevation of a pair of pressing or stamping members of Figure 2 as seen from below the latter view with the near wall removed to disclose detail;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the pressing or stamping head of Figure 2 in operative position, as located over the plates or boards of Figure 1.

Throughout the views, the same reference numerals indicate the same or like parts.

Usually, special more or less complex and expensive apparatus is required for impressing the points forming the characters of the Braille alphabet, so that only printing jobs and other large edition pressings are justified, this making it difficult to do small jobs and to write letters and small treatises and the like in convenient manner for the blind. Upon considering this problem, it has occurred to me that a self-contained simple apparatus should be available for manually impressing the Braille points upon a sheet of paper, so that even a letter may thus be written to a blind person at will.

As a result, I have succeeded in'producing a Braille Patented Apr. 24, .1956- press or stamping device as already indicated, which will now be described in detail in the following.

In the practice of my invention, and'referring also again to the drawing, a paper supporting board or plate 5 has a guide plate 6 of metal or'plastic overlying it and adaptedto hold a sheet of paperin place upon board 5 when Braille impressions are to be made on this paper. Plate 6 has three elongated slots 7, 8, 9 forming fields in which the upper, intermediate and lower points of the. Braille system are to be impressed. On the same plate are also three corresponding rows of point feeding slots or apertures 10, 10, 11, 11, and 12, 12, etc., for a purpose. that will presently be explained.

Co-operating with the guide and feed plate 6 is a pressing or stamping head, generally indicated at 13, and having a frame or casing 14 with the lower portion 15 thereof. adapted to ride over the surface of plate 6 during operation and rest over it for each latter being impressed guide holes 21 for pins 18, while upon the top of the casing is a group of finger keys 22, 23, 24, etc., each con-. nected to a plunger similar to 16 and 17. As there are six-pointsused in Braille, there are six keys and plungers with indenting pins. v

In order to facilitate return of the keys to normal position after each depression thereof, these keys are also provided with return springs .25, 25 to return them independently of the plungers forming the plunger unit. The casing 14 has an apron 14' that surrounds the upper end of part 15 and allows a slight vertical movement of the presser casing 14 with respect to plunger casing 15. If the keys 22, etc. are depressed, they do not directly impinge on the plungers, but operate connectors 26, 27, 28, etc., by individually pushing them a short distance transversely over the upper ends of the plungers 16, 17, etc., thus causing the presser casing when depressed to depress the one or more plungers over which the connectors have been pushed by the keys, but not any other plunger. Each of the keys has an arm within casing 14, the keys 22, 23 having interior arms 29, 30 pivoted upon a pivot mounting 31 and beyond this pivot point continuing as connector arms 32, 33 carrying connectors 26 and 27 for two of the six plungers similar to 16 and 17. Stops 34 prevent the. keys from projecting too far from the casing when at rest.

In similar fashion, keys 24, 35, 36 and 37 have interior arms 38, 39, 40 and 41 all pivoted upon pivot mounting 42 and at their inner ends beyond the pivot carrying connectors 28, 42, 43 and 44, except arm 38 which is pivoted at its inner end and has its connector portion 28 located at an intermediate point thereof. In this fashion, the keys control operation of the plungers when the presser casing 14 is depressed by hand.

However, when the presser casing is thus depressed, it performs another function as well, for, as may be seen in Figure 2, the casing at 45 has the upper end 46 of a bell crank lever 47 pivotally connected thereto, being vintermediately pivoted'at 48 on a lug 49 fixed upon lower plunger casing 15. The other depending arm 50 of this lever is pivotally connected in a slot 51 to a pin 52 on a horizontally slidable feeder 53 carrying a pivoted pawl 54 pivoted at 55 and step by step engaging in the apertures or slots 10, 11 or 12, as the case may be in connection with which slot 7, 8 or 9 is being currently used. The sliding feeder has a pair of pins 56, 57 slidably supporting and guiding it in an elongated slot 58,

while a spring 59 is connected at one end to this bell crank and at the other end to lower casing 15 for returning the feeder toward the left while pawl 54 engages in a slot 11 and thereby shifts the presser casing or head and portion 15 horizontally a step tothe right for the next letter to be formed. r

The key 60 has an inner projection '61 disposed in elfective position to engage upon arms 39 and 40 of keys 35 and 36, so that upon depression of this key, both keys 35 and 36 with their inner arms 39 and 40 will be depressed simultaneously. Thus, by operating any one or more of the keys while depressing the casing or head 14 by hand for each letter to be made, one or more Braille points will be impressed on the paper held beneath plate 6 on board 5. The latter may have a rubber or plastic coating to facilitate partial penetration of the paper held thereon by the pins on the impression plungers.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to, and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. A Braille stamping or pressing device including a guide plate adapted to be laid upon a paper to be impressed and having an open area for receiving the impressions on the paper as well as a row of apertures along the plate, a plunger casing adapted to rest slidably on the plate having a perforate bottom with plungers in said casing terminating at the bottom in impressing pins guided downwardly in said perforate bottom, a presser casing forming a presser or stamping head mounted-on the plunger casing for limited vertical movement, a plurality of keys movably supported upon said stamping head, means for engaging with the apertures in said row upon said plate for feeding said casings along said plate,

and means operable by said keys for connecting any one or more of said plungers with the presser casing to be depressed thereby upon depression of said presser casing.

2. A Braille stamping or pressing device according to claim I, wherein each key has an interiorly pivoted arm supporting it and a connector upon each arm shiftable upon depression of its respectively associated key into effective position to engage the corresponding plunger in the plunger casing for depressing said plunger when the presser casing is manually depressed.

3. A Braille stamping or pressing device according to claim 2, wherein a lever is pivotally connected at one end to the one casing and at its intermediate portion to the other casing, the plunger casing has a slidable feeding member carried thereon and itself carrying a pawl adapted to engage in the row of apertures on the guide plate, the other end of said lever is operatively connected to saidfeeding member for sliding it horizontally; and a spring serves to return the feeding member to"original position. a I

4. A Braille stamping or pressing device according to claim 3, wherein one key has means for engaging with the arms of two other keys to depress the latter simultancously.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 755,420 Wayne Mar. 22, 1904 FOREIGN PATENTS 542,003 Great Britain Dec. 22,1941 

